Weapons

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a man’s conviction of conspiracy to commit robbery while armed with a deadly weapon
because the state did not present evidence that the defendant and another man conspired ahead of time to rob a Lawrenceburg
gas station.

A unanimous Supreme Court of the United States ruled Monday that the government can’t prevent a convicted felon who
is barred from possessing firearms from trying to sell his guns after they are confiscated by authorities.

A handgun discarded by a teen after seeing a marked police car – and later picked up by the officer who saw the teen
throw the gun into a yard – was properly admitted at his delinquency hearing, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed.

Three of a man’s eight convictions stemming from his robbery of acquaintances were reversed or reduced because
the convictions or elevated classes were based on the same elements of the crime, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.

Whether firearms belonging to co-conspirators in a drug ring attributed to a defendant for purposes of the firearm sentence
enhancement can be considered for a two-level reduction in her offense level under the so-called “safety valve”
for nonviolent, first-time drug offenders is a matter of first impression for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. But the judges
declined to address the issue because the woman failed to raise it at sentencing.

A man who stabbed his son-in-law and was convicted of battery with a deadly weapon argues trial court errors prevented him
from presenting evidence that he acted in self-defense. The appellant claims the victim was the first to strike, whacking
him with a 2-by-4 piece of lumber.

The speedy-trial clock did not begin to run upon the federal government’s filing of a complaint and detainer against
an Indiana man, so the 16-month delay in filing the federal indictment did not violate his right to a speedy trial, the 7th
Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday.

An Indianapolis teenager suspected in two burglaries was subject to an unlawful pat down and search by an officer, the Indiana
Court of Appeals ruled. As such, the gun found on him should not have been admissible at his delinquency hearing.

The determination as to whether guns or a gun collection are “household goods” should be made on a case-by-case
basis, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. In a case before it Wednesday, the judges held that the large collection owned
by a couple who are since deceased was incorrectly classified as “household goods.”

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a defendant’s claim that his motion to suppress drugs and guns found by police
at a storage locker through the use of a GPS unit should have been granted because attaching the device to his car for purposes
of gathering information was a search under the Fourth Amendment.

What a South Bend man said to another suspect while they were alone in the back of a police cruiser was recorded by an in-car
video camera and properly presented to a federal jury, a panel of judges decided in a matter of first impression for the 7th
Circuit Court of Appeals.

Finding that the state relied on the same evidence to convict a man of three charges after he fired a gun at police while
fleeing, the Indiana Court of Appeals ordered one of those convictions vacated and the other reduced.

The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a man’s convictions, including forgery and possession of a firearm by a serious
violent felon, after finding the errors by the trial court in admitting certain testimony were harmless beyond a reasonable
doubt.

The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a man’s claim that because a stipulation to being a serious violent felon did
not use the term “serious violent felon,” the state didn’t establish that as his status.

A defendant who took the stand in his federal trial for felony firearm possession failed to convince the 7th Circuit Court
of Appeals Nov. 26 that the evidence of his gun tattoo should not have been admitted.

The search by school police of a student’s backpack was justified based on a teacher’s suspicion that the backpack
may have contained drugs or weapons, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The officer’s search turned up a gun.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a Manilla, Indiana, man’s convictions of making false statements in connection
with the purchase of a firearm, holding the trial court violated his due process right to present a mistake-of-fact defense.

The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a man’s misdemeanor handgun charge after finding the police did not need a
search warrant to retrieve the gun after the man placed it inside an apartment in view of the officers.

A panel of judges on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a man’s 117-month prison sentence on drug and weapons
charges, but two judges believed the case should have been heard en banc based on the importance of a sentencing issue.

Although a witness’s changed testimony did not open the door wide enough to allow the introduction of a defendant’s
prior drug record, the prosecution’s case was still substantial without the improper evidence so the defendant’s
federal conviction will stand.